Asia to host 2011 World Cup

Asia have won the bid to host the 2011 World Cup by beating a joint bid by Australia and New Zealand by ten votes to three. The ICC's executive committee met in Dubai on Sunday, and made series of decisions regarding the future hosting of events. After missing out on 2011, Australia and New Zealand have the 2015 World Cup and England the 2019 event.

"We did a great job, the four countries put together an impressive presentation and we got 10 out of 13 votes," Lalit Modi, BCCI vice-president told the Press Trust of India. "We are looking forward to it. A lot of work has to go in. The four countries will jointly sit down along with ICC to chalk out plans for hosting the 2011 World Cup. A lot of infrastructure needs to be put in place. We are mentally geared up for it. We will do the task at hand."

Reflecting on the decision over the 2011 tournament, Ehsan Mani, the ICC President, said: "On behalf of the ICC I congratulate the four Asian members on earning the right to host the World Cup 2011.

"Since turning up at the ICC board meeting in March with an unviable submission they have worked hard to satisfy the strict hosting criteria set by the ICC. That a compliant submission was produced ahead of the final deadline earlier this month is testament to the capacity of these four countries to work together.

"We can now prepare with confidence for what promises to be the biggest occasion that cricket fans in Asia and around the world will ever have seen. This is the first time that members interested in hosting ICC events have been required to produce submissions that fulfil strict hosting criteria and we have been delighted with the process.

Pakistan had reasons for a double celebration when not only did they win a joint bid with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to host the 2011 World Cup but they were also awarded the 2008 Champions Trophy.

The delegates representing the Asian bid at the meeting also expressed their joy at securing the right to host the 2011 tournament.

"We are delighted to have been asked to host the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, it is a tremendous honour," said Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the PCB. "The submissions process has been eye-opening for all of us. I don't think we fully appreciated the volume of work that was required to produce a compliant submission and we are grateful to the ICC Board for allowing us extra time to complete this process."

IS Bindra, who attended the meeting on behalf of the BCCI, said: "I was fortunate enough to be associated with Asia's previous successful bids for the 1987 and 1996 tournaments. Both of those were great successes and we hope 2011 will represent a new landmark as a cricketing and sporting milestone.

"We can promise that the 2011 Cricket World Cup will be as big as the football World Cup. In Asia you will see traffic stop, and massive television audiences and crowds for all the matches played."

The BCCI secretary, Naranjan Shah, who was in Dubai to help deliver the Asian presentation, added: "We worked hard as a group and we were all determined to get the World Cup. It has been a joint effort and this result is the fruits of those efforts."

The Bangladesh representative, Mohammad Ali Asghar MP, said: "This is fantastic news and is a big progression for Bangladesh, especially as we have also secured an ICC Event in 2014. The matches in our country will definitely keep up Bangladesh's development in world cricket and we congratulate the ICC for giving us this chance. We will ensure we have all the support necessary from our Government to make these events successful."

Jayantha Dharmadasa, the chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), added: "It is difficult to find the words to express how delighted I am with this news. All of Sri Lanka, from the President down, will be thrilled with what has happened and with the problems in the country at the moment this is a very positive thing.

"We have also been awarded an ICC Event in 2012, and whether it will be a Twenty20 World Championship or a Champions Trophy we are so happy to be hosting it. The events in 2011 and 2012 mean that we will have hosted five ICC tournaments in 12 years and that speaks very highly of Sri Lanka, SLC and the present administration.

"We will have two new grounds by then with one near Kandy and the newly renovated stadium in Galle and that means we would have a total of seven excellent world-class venues to use."

The result is a boost for the Asian group whose bid had been weakened by a late submission.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had made a bid and were allowed an extension until April 21 to set out their proposal after they had difficulty hitting the first deadline in March. In the end, when it came down to voting, the Asian group came through with a big majority.